Hl2 Help ! ! ! !

was installing HL2 inserted CD3 and heard this funny noise from the burner.

took the cd out and from the center it cracked my CD

now it wont install,,

what can I do without buying a new copy???

can I download it from Steam????

If you know someone who has the game also you can try their cd3. Although if you told me your drive cracked yours I wouldn't be too quick to give you mine.

dunno what happened I have installed other games after this today and the cdrom is fine. wonder if it was a defective cd..

who knows..

Can't you just download Steam and then enter in your serial #? Then it should download all of the necessary files....not sure though

When you run Steam, go to Browse games and then click "Register a product I already own", enter your CD-key and you're done.

I was able to download the entire game via steam even though my CD Key was a retail CD Key. However, someone said they were not able to. I guess the only way to find out is to give it a try. Good luck!

i bet you are STEAMed now lolol

was your cdrom broken too or just the cd ???

fixed downloaded from Steam, tested the cdrom/burner works fine...

Yeah as long as you have a license to the game, it doesn't matter how you get the game. It doesnt matter if you download it over Steam or install is with CDs, the game is still yours because you have the cd-key... which is your license. This holds true to all Steam games.

Cracked centers on a CD or DVD are usually attributed to poor manufacturing.
Their process was probably off which created too much stress in the disk, thus causing it to crack in the center.
Unfortunately it happens all too often.
For a drive to crack the center of the disk, there has to be something seriously wrong, even if the cd was off center in the drive and the hub came up to meet the center-hole but missed, the disk should still be pliable enough to withstand the stress of the situation and bend slightly instead of cracking.

Verdict? ...most likely poor manufacturing